Cheese, Please: In praise of all places gooey

We might not be the world's top cheese eaters - leave that to the Greeks and the French - but Canadians do their best to indulge. Our cheddar rocks and, in 2009, Le Cendrillon, a goat cheese made by Quebec producer La Maison Alexis de Portneuf, won top honours at the World Cheese Awards. With that in mind, welcome this all-cheese edition.

1. Cheese & Agriculture Museum, Ingersoll, Ont.

Canadian cheese production began here in Oxford County in 1840. To pay homage to those days, a replica 20th-century cheese factory has been set up with exhibits focusing on those early years. It was a time when the Mammoth Cheese was made, a block weighing over 3,100 kilograms. ingersoll.ca

2. Uncle Betty's, Toronto

How about some cheese with your cheese? In what might be one of the most decadent grilled cheese sandwiches ever, this midtown diner uses white and orange cheese, tops it with mac 'n cheese, and then a generous slab of meat loaf or pulled pork. 2590 Yonge St.

3. Les Amis du Fromage, Vancouver.

There are many fab cheese shops across Canada, Toronto's Cheese Boutique and Ottawa's House of Cheese in the ByWard Market among them. But this cheesy store is pretty, offering 400 to 500 varieties, some tough to find elsewhere. buycheese.com

4. Cheese cave, toca, The Ritz-Carleton, Toronto

If you are a turophile (fancy talk for cheese lover), this is your Nirvana. On hand is an exquisite selection of mainly Canadian cheese, plus some notable imports like Manchego from Spain and Ragusano cow's milk cheese, valued at $4,000 for a 20 kg chunk. Informal tours share the highlights with guests. Ritzcarlton.com

5. Gorilla Cheese, Hamilton

In Steeltown, business execs line up next to students to get their hands on sandwiches from Canada's finest grilled cheese food truck. It just hit the streets this summer and is doing fab. Find it via Facebook and Twitter. Gorillacheese.com

6. Great Wisconsin Cheese Festival, Little Chute, Wisconsin

There's a reason why they call Wisconsin residents 'cheeseheads.' The state is the top producer of cheese in the U.S. (the largest cheese producing nation in the world). Find out why during this annual event (June) and practise now to earn a spot for the cheese curd-eating and cheese carving competitions. http: //wi-littlechute.civicplus.com/index. aspx?NID=226

7. Cheese Le Forme Del Latte, Bra, Italy

This is the grand fromage of cheese festivals with 150 nations dishing it out over three days in September. This is a serious one, so no cheeseeating contests and cheese-wedge hats. The medieval town of Bra is lovely, so show your support. www.cheese.slowfood.com/

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